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The use of toxic testile dyes, such as the Sudan Red group, to adulterate food has been a high risk alert since the early 2000’s.  Over the past few years there have been persistent reported incidents with no apparent decline.  Original watch-outs were red spices and sauces, but more recently the focus has been on the adulteration of cheaper vegetable oils with red dye to pass them off as palm oil.  Palm oil from West Africa has been particularly implicated.

A recent media report from Ghana suggests that – far from improving – the problem is increasing in the case of palm oil on the local market.

Sudan Red dyes are classified as a Group 3 human carcinogen by the IARC and their widespread use in food is an obvious health concern for the local population.  For companies importing palm oil from countries where adulteration is endemic within the local market then traceability becomes key; being sure that your own stock comes from plantations and refineries with good and trusted oversight and has not been substituted for cheaper (adulterated) oil.  It is relatively easy to test for Sudan dyes, and periodic analysis is always a good way to check that assumptions about strong traceability are correct.

Photo by IKRAM ULLAH on Unsplash

Legal identity standards are an important benchmark for food authenticity.  They are set at a national (or EU) level, and can define everything from the minimum cocoa solids for chocolate to be branded as “chocolate” to the definition of a “meat pie”.  The difference between identity standards in different jurisdictions is a regular reason why internationally-traded foods are rejected as inauthentic. 

There are opposing trends in different parts of the world in terms of the scope and breadth of legal identity standards.  The EU has a wide range of Protected Geographic Indications, Protected Designations of Origin, and minimum specifications for many common foods.  The “Breakfast Directives”, covering jams, honey, fruit juices and milk, were tightened in 2024.  In the US, as part of the current national drive for deregulation, the FDA have just revoked 52 identity standards.  These mainly relate to foods that are seen as obsolete, or which have a very small commercial market within the US.  Meanwhile in India, where the scope of identity standards has been seen as narrower, the FSSAI have just tightened the norms for oils, sausages and colours.

With this continually evolving landscape, it is imperative that an exporting food company understands the identity standards of the territory where they are intending to sell.

See blog by legal firm Hogan Lovells on US deregulation of identity standards

See press report on India tightening of identity standards

Photo by Elena Leya on Unsplash

Ghana Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has sent a strong warning to Palm Oil Producers across the country to desist from using the Sudan dye to mix the red oil before sending them to the market.

According to the FDA, its outfit has a set of strict regulatory sanctions that will be applied to all persons who are caught in this act.

The FDA warned that “Sudan 4 dye is not approved for use in food products, Sudan dyes are classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as Group 3 carcinogens and are banned as food additives worldwide (IARC, 1987)”.

Chief Executive of FDA, Delese Mimi Darko, announced this when she speaking at the launching of the Artisanal Palm Oil Millers and Outgrowers Association app in Accra, a digital technology device aimed at protecting the industry, and also to ensure authentic and healthy palm oil exportation for the global market.

The association has developed an app to enable consumers to track the source of palm oil and its producers before purchase and consumption to curb the menace of a chemical called Sudan IV, which is sometimes added to palm oil.

Read full article.

The new guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration aims to help food businesses understand and comply with the new Intentional Adulteration Rule, which comes into effect in July 2019. The IA Rule requires businesses to implement strategies to reduce the risk of intentional adulteration at food facilities that are particularly vulnerable.

The 94-page draft guidance, which is the first of three installments, includes chapters on the Food Defense Plan, vulnerability assessment, and mitigation strategies. The other installments will be released later in the year.

Read the full guidance here.